Geelong's ability to hold men back and rebound the ball off half-back and Essendon's inability to take their chances when they presented themselves made a big difference and the Cats eventually prevailed for a 17.11 (113) to 11.19 (85).

After the match, Cats coach Scott said that while he knows his team cannot afford to rest on their laurels after such an emphatic run, he is delighted with their season so far.

Agreeing to an extent that they have been lucky at times, the 37-year-old said there was much more to their success than fortune.

"I agree with the assessment of some people that we might have been lucky at times," he said.

"Some people would argue it's a little bit more than luck - it happens a little bit too often for it to be luck."

Scott praised key forward James Podsiadly, who went back in the second term and played a crucial role as Geelong stopped the Bombers' surge.

"Late in that second quarter, he was as important as anyone," Scott said.

While Johnson had a game-high 36 disposals, he was also wasteful at times, particularly early in the game.

"He did some very good things and some very bad things," Scott said.

"When you go for the one-out-of-10 option a lot, you're going to miss a few."

Meanwhile, Essendon coach James Hird said his team wasted opportunities, but would learn a lot from the game.

"We certainly felt we were in the game and closer than the scoreline said," Hird said.

"We would have liked to have used the ball a bit better in the second quarter when we had a (21 point) lead," he said.